I just got back from a great trip to the owens and east walker rivers in California and I was wondering if there are any more fisherman in the forums, and what do you fish for?

I spin for trout, I know, I can hear the fly fisherman cringe, but I'm just too productive to put down the lures.

Since I moved to Denver I haven't had the opportunity to fish much as water is a rather scarce resource out here.

However, back in Michigan I fished at least once per week. We had a place on a lake back there and would fish for the usual lake fish (bluegill, perch, bass, pike, etc) and every now and then we would hit Lake Huron for some monster Lake Trout.

Every time I vacation to the ocean I also always find time to rent a charter. Last time was Kona, HI. Had a 6-hour tour with not so much as a nibble. Took the fiancee along. She was not impressed.

I've fished the Denver area before. A river called the Cache La Poudre, caught and released two decent sized trout over the span of a couple hours. Tough river to fish, but it was certainly beautiful. I have pretty fond memories of Colorado.

Yeah, well I guess you could say I'm a lazy fisherman. My idea of fishing fun is parking a boat on a drop off with a can of worms, bobbers, and a 6-pack. I guess in this regard I am embracing my inner mullet (no fish pun intended). Fly-fishing is just a little too over the top for me.

Fish when I can from my small boat. Target ahi, ono, mahimahi and aku. Try to avoid marlin but they seem to like my boat. When offshore is not happening, bottom fish on the inside ledges and reefs 5 fathoms to 150 fathoms.

I'm not a serious fisherman any longer. I only fish saltwater and I live about 4-5 hours from the nearest saltwater so my fishing these days is mostly limited to once or twice a year during a vacation trip. I truly enjoy it though.

I live next to the Long Island Sound and enjoy fishing for Flounder, Fluke, Blue Fish, Striped Bass and Porgies. I have 20ft Searay and enjoy fishing with my four kids.

I would love to fish for Marlin!!!

Love to fish. Just not enough time to do it as much as I'd like. Used to be a pretty serious bass fisherman. There's great smallmouth action on the upper Potomac River nearby. Fortunately, I have access to a couple small farm ponds nearby, so when I get the jones bad, I can hook up with some fat 2-3 pound largemouths 10 minutes from home!

PH

Some of the finest fly fishing is going for Kamloops trout up in British Columbia! Fly fishing is the only way to go, IMHO.

I have been flyfishing since I could walk, but didn't really understand it until I was about 10. I mainly fish for trout, salmon, and steelhead, but will fish for bass, crappie, catfish, and whatever else is available. The only ocean fishing I did was in Iceland from shore, but that was awesome.

A few years ago, my dad's cousin sold 106 acres of pasture that bordered several hundred feet on the Roaring Fork River in CO to a guy in Aspen. He then leases the pasture back for cattle grazing. We have fished that stretch for years and always catch several nice Browns in there. A couple years ago Tom Bailey (Janus Funds founder) bought the land directly upstream, and across the river from the pasture. Now he's building an empire there, even built a large bridge across the river from his house. He has guys patroling the river on ATV's all day. My dad and I are probably the only people that ever access the river from that stretch, and I think it drives him crazy. They sit and watch us fishing, to make sure we don't cross over the center line of the river. I just stand and wave at them with a big smile while I release each fish.

This last year my dad's cousin told us that Tom was in negotiations with the guy in Aspen to buy this land as well. I think he's doing it just so he can keep everyone out of there, and continue to build his little empire.

What he doesn't know, is that one of my dad's other cousins (the first's brother), owns the acreage downstream that borders this property. Won't he be surprised to see me in there again.

If all else fails, I'll just start floating the river, and wave to them every time I pass through.

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Some of the finest fly fishing is going for Kamloops trout up in British Columbia!

It's not just the Kamloops, all of BC has some great fly fishing. I love packing into some of the rivers and streams that aren't accessible by road up there. Fantastic fishing!

There's a TON of great flats fishing to be found down here in Florida, needless to say, but I only dabble in deep-sea charters now and then. I'll go on a run a few times a year, usually end up hookin dolphin, amberjacks, etc. Sometimes we'll change tackle and go shark fishing, or snag some 'cudas or jewfish and the like... those tripes aren't usually half as 'successful' though. Although I do have a jaw-dropping barracudda on my wall as a result of one of those runs. This thing was an absolutely SEA MONSTER! Never seen one HALF that big, kid you not. Hence, why I trophied him.

I'd fish a lot more if I had the time or a boat of my own. But as if now it is a fringe hobby at best. Nothing beats being out at sea or cruisin the flats early in the mornin though, that's for sure!

I grew up next to a small lake within the Seattle city limits. Used to fish there after school all the time. Took some decent rainbow trout out of that lake.
I haven't been fishing for a good while, though. These days, it seems fishing just gets more expensive every year, what with the licenses, stamps, parking permits, special gear, ever-changing regulations, etc. And that's just if you're a state resident. Heaven help you if you fish out of state.
It's taken all the fun out of it.

I like fishing by snokling with harpoon, but only have doen it in saltwater. Any one snorkle in river or lake? What's it like?

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I just got back from a great trip to the owens and east walker rivers in California

There are a couple of us who live in this neighborhood.....fishing offline!!!

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Originally posted by mountainman:

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I just got back from a great trip to the owens and east walker rivers in California

There are a couple of us who live in this neighborhood.....fishing offline!!!

Sounds good to me!
My buddies and I just got back from the area, we camped near Tom's place and stayed through the storm that just passed last week. Man was it cold!!

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There are a couple of us who live in this neighborhood.....fishing offline!!!

I'm getting visions of Burt Reynolds, Ned Beatty and Jon Voight after this statement.
Wooowww, count me out!

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Originally posted by Opus Two:
I like fishing by snokling with harpoon, but only have doen it in saltwater. Any one snorkle in river or lake? What's it like?

I used to live on a lake and my brother and I would do night-dives spearifshing for bowfin. I should note that spearfishing for us basically entailed attaching triton spear tips to the ends of broom handles... we would also duct tape glow sticks to the spears in case we dropped them.

Snorkeling in lakes isn't that bad so long as you can deal with the severely diminished visibility and the weedbeds.... oh, and drunken boaters who think the diver flag is a regatta pylon... that really happened to me.

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we camped near Tom's place and stayed through the storm

Lizard; Funny you should mention the town of "Tom's Place". I never heard it mentioned in casual conversation. I had one of my worst vacation nightmare stories near there.

When I was in elementary school, my dad took me and my brother on a fishing trip to some trout fishing camp in the Sierras ( I think it was near Mammoth). We loaded up the Oldsmobile with all the gear, and head out from Los Angeles where we lived. Somewhere between Bishop and Tom's Place we got a flat tire. Dad changed the tire and we continued on our way. We then blew out the spare a few miles from Tom's Place. We called for a tow, and the guy from the Tom's Place gas station comes out, sees we have blown out our regular tire and our spare and says "I can tow you into town, but it'll cost ya". He wanted some exorbitant amount, maybe 100 dollars per mile or something like that. My Dad told him to buzz off, so he left, and we tried to call someone in Bishop or Mammoth, but no one would come out. Back then there were no cell phones, and to call emergency services, you had to use those highway "call boxes" posted every several miles. We called the guy from Tom's Place again, who agreed to come back, but now wanted twice the price. Dad called him a %&*#, but he towed us to the station. Once we got there, he told us it would be some ungoshly amount for a new tire, (don't remember the amount, but probably the equivalent of a thousand bucks in today's dollars). Dad told him he was a rip off artist, and the guy laughed and said" There aint no where else to go, and no one to tow you if there was, so just pay the money and stop yelling". Of course, they did not have the tire in the shop, and couldn't get it until the next morning, but he got us a room in town at the crap-hole motel his brother owned for some horrific amount (probably the equivalent of 500 dollars in today's money). Back then, it was the only motel in town, so we had nowhere else to go.

We got our tire, and made it to the trout camp a day late, but had a good trip in the end. I trust the town of Tom's Place is more than just a gas station and a dingy motel and convenience store as it was when we broke down there, but I still have this image of this toothless moron figuratively bending us over the barrel holding all the cards and leaving us at his mercy.

My Dad complained to AAA, the highway patrol, and just about everyone else you could complain to when we got home, and they all told him "stuff like this happens every month by the guy's in Tom's Place". There's nothing anyone can do. They didn't break any laws...........

Great Story!

From what I undersand, Tom's place is nothing more than a market-saloon-cafe-motel (all in one) town even now. I camped right outside of "town" (if you want to call it that) and went in for a couple of drinks on the 2nd night of the storm. I know mountainman said there were a few people in the area on the forums, so I won't say anymore, but lets just say that the night we went to the saloon couldn't have been more brilliantly written on an episode of the twilight zone!

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lets just say that the night we went to the saloon couldn't have been more brilliantly written on an episode of the twilight zone!

I totally believe it.

Sounds like that first "Vacation" movie with Chevy Chase.

Chevy: "So, what do I owe you?"
Toothless Moron: "How much ya got?"

I live right in the middle of one of the world's Grand Central's in sport fishing...Vancouver Island.
Chinook, Sockeye, Koho salmon both in the chuck and in the rivers...Halibut, Cod, Red Snapper...river stealhead...lake trout...heck, I might as well throw in Oysters, Clams, Crab, and Prawns.
I used to do lots of fishing, but now I just throw a line out while I destination paddle in my kayak for fun.
I get so much fish, smoked salmon and shell fish from friends and customers I never have to catch it.

Hey Mr. MoJoRisin (lizardking), Yeah that's a real hoppin place there. . Ronmc2 and I live in the "big city" of Mammoth. Tom's Place is just that motel, store/restaurant/bar. I may know a couple of those Tom Place people though....probably not wine drinkers.